This invention relates to human powered watercraft propulsion devices, specifically portable, self-contained, pedal operated, belt driven units with hand adjustable belt tensioning that can be easily attached to small pontoon watercraft and water cycles to obtain forward and reverse water propulsion.
Inflatable pontoon fishing boats are plentiful and affordable in the marketplace. They are typically propelled by paddles, oars, kicking with foot fins, small electric trolling motors or small gasoline outboard motors. Human-powered watercraft propulsion devices are generally designed specifically for a particular watercraft, therefore, they are not easily attached to the wide variety of inexpensive inflatable pontoon boats and small watercraft available on the market.
Prior art reveals a variety of human powered watercraft propulsion devices. They are distinguished primarily by their design, portability, size, ease of use, connection to the watercraft, and the type of watercraft they are intended to fit.
U.S. Pat. No. 98,302 to Ross (1869), and U.S. Pat. No. 621,465 to Storms (1899), disclose a distributed system of pulleys and belts that require a lot of space on the watercraft. Both utilize a twisted belt design to transfer power from a crank shaft to a propeller shaft which have axes disposed at generally 90 degrees to each other. Ross (1869) uses hand cranks on a mono-hull boat, and Storms (1899) uses the foot pedals on a bicycle frame attached to a trimaran. Both systems are either permanently installed on a custom watercraft, or would require substantial effort and permanent modification of the watercraft to install. They are not easily portable or adaptable to other watercraft. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,148 to Siviero (1998), teaches a drive unit attached to the front of a bicycle on a pontoon boat driven by a flexible cable from a friction wheel in contact with the rear wheel of a bicycle. Though the drive unit itself is small, the entire system is very distributed and large. It requires a bicycle and a custom pontoon boat, so it is not easily portable to other pontoon watercraft. None of the above devices are self-contained or easily transferable to other watercraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,342,897 B2 to Gater and Banks (2013), reveals a similarly large, bulky, distributed system, but it is designed to be mounted in an existing canoe or similar type watercraft. The system includes a seat, frame, and attachment system, and utilizes a combination of twisted and non-twisted belts and a flexible shaft. It has many parts, is not easily removed, and not designed for attachment to a small pontoon watercraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,275 to Schlangen and Buresch (1995) and U.S. Pat. App. Publication No. US 2008/0188146 A1 to Howard and Wilcoxen (2008), disclose self-contained propulsion devices. They utilize non-twisted chain and bevel gears sealed inside a waterproof housing with an oil bath to lubricate the internal mechanisms. The device of Schlangen and Buresch (1995) is specifically fitted to its custom pontoon watercycle, and likewise, the device of Howard and Wilcoxen (2008) is specifically designed for and attached to its custom kayak. They are both designed to be attached specifically to their respective watercraft and are not easily removable or transferable to different types of watercraft without modification to the drive or watercraft. Their closed systems have many internal parts, are likely expensive to produce, require a waterproof sealed lining with an oil bath, cannot be visually inspected by the user without disassembly, and require periodic maintenance of the oil bath and internal components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,653 B2 to Free (2004), is a self-contained, portable propulsion device utilizing a twisted chain configuration that is designed to be either enclosed in a housing or fully exposed and to be installed in a daggerboard fashion. It would likely require a custom boat or specific modification to the boat or drive unit to be installed, and is relatively complex with many moving parts.
In conclusion, in so far as I am aware, no human powered watercraft propulsion device formerly developed provides a portable, self-contained, removably attachable, efficient, and affordable water propulsion device for attaching to existing inflatable pontoon boats and other small watercraft.